Indiana’s Aiden Fisher Nominated For Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award

DALLAS (FWAA) — Indiana’s Aiden Fisher is this week’s nominee for the 2024 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award. Fisher, a junior linebacker, has overcome the loss of both his father and his stepfather to lead the Big Ten in tackles.

“You’re put in people’s lives for a reason, in my opinion,” Fisher told BTN at media days in July. “Not only me, but those men in my life. They taught me some things that I never thought I’d be able to learn from people.“And I think when you speak to my ‘why,’ it’s those men that were in my life, as well as t

hose girls at home that look up to me. We share the same story, we share the same path, and I just think that’s so important to me, and being able to share that and have other people just know there’s always hope in something.”

Fisher’s father, Christopher, died, in 2014. His stepfather, Vinny, died in 2019. Fisher has persevered for his mother, his two sisters and himself along the way. He wears the No. 4 jersey to honor their collective strength. A Fredericksburg, Va., native, Fisher began his college career at JMU, playing in 10 games as a freshman. He broke through during his sophomore year in Harrisonburg, leading the Dukes with 108 tackles while earning third-team All-Sun Belt honors.

He made the move this season with coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana, where the 6-0 Hoosiers are off to their best start since 1967, when they began the season 8-0, shared the Big Ten title and played in the Rose Bowl. The 6-foot-1, 233-pound Fisher leads the conference with 55 total tackles, and he is tied for seventh nationally. He has three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries and one pass breakup for the No. 18 Hoosiers as well.

“You lose a lot of people along the way,” Fisher said. “There’s a lot of stuff that when you look at, you could feel sorry for yourself, but there’s always a positive in something. And as long as you keep going you’ll get anywhere you want to be in life.”